Friday, December 25, 2015

Summer Hackathon: Conclusion

The Summer Hackathon I started on in May came to an end in August when I displayed a lot of what I had been working on at Makevention. I finished some projects and abandoned some others. Here is the outcome of the projects I set out to work on.

EEPROM Computer

Progress:

Abandoned

As I mentioned in the last update, a 4-bit version of this kind of computer has already been made by someone else. In the future I may make a 32-bit version, but for the time being I am done working on this.

8-bit Homebrew Computer

Progress:

20%

For this project, I designed a lot of the opcodes and most of how I want the computer to work. The chips I want to use don't seem to be simulated anywhere, so I will have to breadboard everything to test it out. So far I have one chip working just to test how it works.

Brainfuck Microcontroller

Progress:

55%

Apart from a few counters and status LEDs on a breadboard, I started soldering some boards with double row headers to hold everything.

Juggalo Robot

Progress:

70%

During the summer I didn't make much real progress on this project. I spent most of my time working on projects for Makevention instead.

ESP8266

Progress:

50%

I got an ESP8266 up and running. At first I had problems with the power supply but the chip seems to run alright with those problems solved. It also lists and connects to networks. Next, I need to connect to a server and transfer data, which will be used for a calculator project.

Wireless Breadboard

Progress:

Failed

This project was a failure. First of all I made a mistake with the spacing of the headers and it wouldn't fit the breadboard I was using. When I was working with it later I broke the entire header in half. The project wouldn't work anyway because the breadboard drops so much voltage. Unless I can find a breadboard that is much better, I don't intend to work on this project.

ATF1508 CPLD

Progress:

Done

After a lot of trouble and replacing a bricked chip, I eventually found a way to reliably program this chip. I also soldered a board to use for testing. This should be everything I need for the project I will use it in.

BASIC Interpreter

Progress:

30%

I also didn't make any progress on this project either. It would have been used with the Wireless Breadboard project if I had finished it. I will keep it for a later project I might need BASIC for.

LCD Programming

Progress:

50%

I got an LCD working for the 6502 Graphing Calculator project, as well as a VFD (technically not an LCD) for the Improved RPN Calculator. I did not get the LCD on the STM32F429 Discovery board working because I didn't need it for the Improved 6502 Trainer. I also haven't gotten the monochrome 5.5 inch LCD that requires -27v working yet. It will probably be easier to get a color LCD of that size instead.

Improved 6502 Trainer

Progress:

Done

I finished just about everything I wanted to for this project. It is much faster than the first 6502 Trainer. I will use it to develop for the 6502 Graphing Calculator.

Improved RPN Calculator

Progress:

95%

I finished almost everything for this project except a permanent keypad. I also renamed the project "Programmable RPN Calculator." The keystroke programming can repeat keystrokes, but it can't do any testing or branching. I will add those features eventually, but not in this version of the hardware. I shrank the size of numbers from 255 bytes down to 140. This lets me store all the temporary registers used during calculations on the chip, which makes calculations about five times faster. When I make a keypad I will be finished.